1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for transporting compressed gas. Specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to intermodal containers for transporting compressed gas within pressure vessels and methods for the manufacture and use thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gases and similar materials require specialized pressurized containers for transportation. Natural gas and similar materials are often mined at locations that are remote from refineries and storage facilities, as well as the end users of the materials. Large volumes of pressurized gas are transported from field to market using multiple forms of transportation.
Pipelines are one traditional form of transportation. However, pipelines are expensive and time consuming to install over significant distances. Transportation of gas via pipelines raises political issues relating to the construction and control of the pipeline. Pipelines often pose regulatory and environmental challenges as well. Due to these challenges, the costs of creating and utilizing a pipeline often make them infeasible as solutions in many situations.
Pressure vessels are another way to transport gas from the field to market. Pressure vessels come in many forms and may be built especially for use with gases stored at very high pressure. Moving compressed gas in pressure vessels over long distances typically requires multiple modes of transportation. The compressed gas within the pressure vessels must be transferred from one mode of transportation to another along the route to the target destination. At each transfer point along the route, the gas must be emptied from one set of pressure vessels and used to fill another set of pressure vessels for the next leg of the journey. For example, a cargo ship having a set of pressure vessels is used to transport compressed gas from its country of origin to a destination country by sea. When the ship arrives at the destination country, the compressed gas is transferred from pressure vessels aboard the cargo ship to pressure vessels aboard a train or truck (i.e., a tube trailer) or into a pipeline for transport deeper into the destination country. Alternatively, the pressure vessels may be physically transferred one by one from the ship to other forms of transportation such as the train or truck. Both of these transfer methods are time consuming and require specialized equipment for pumping the materials in the vessels or transferring individual pressure vessels. This increases the cost of shipping the materials in the pressure vessels.